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Thanksgiving “Break”
Here are the highlights for how we spent our all-too-brief holiday break:
- Cleared and set our dining room table with new centerpieces and a holiday theme
- Baked pie
- Brined and cooked two turkeys, one at our house, one elsewhere, as well as prepared associated trimmings
- Had delicious Thanksgiving dinner
- Went on three separate shopping outings, including an early one on Black Friday, another to buy a suit for an upcoming wedding, and yet another to Philadelphia Premium Outlets to hang out with family
- Gave Bram his first through fifth rides on bouncy cars and airplanes (totally worth $2.50)
- Cleared bookshelves and dressers in the master bedroom of various clutter
- Steam mopped the main level of our house
- Finally replaced X10 wired receiver for dining room fixture (killed many months ago by lightning)
- Sorted DVDs into binder, disposed of about 100 cases (100 more to go and our collection will be neatly organized and out of sight)
- Began planning holiday party
- Collected 3 batches of stuff we no longer wanted and left free items on curb (all taken)
- Sorted old baby clothes into lots – 0-6 months, 6-12 months, 12-18 months, 18 months-2T
- Sorted Tupperware, tossed dozens of old plastic containers kept “just in case,” prepped much unused stuff for sale
- Packed old China and other dishes for sale
- Made 5 postings to Craigslist (see clothes, Tupperware, China above; one transaction complete so far)
- Trimmed Christmas tree
- Hung up 10 pictures from various vacations and life events
- Sorted dozens of other pictures as candidates for placing in newly purchased frames
- Cleared space for Department 56 Christmas village display
- Hauled an embarrassing amount of trash to the curb
- Ran the dishwasher pretty much continuously
- Washed laundry
- Paid bills
- … and many other mundane things
I think it’s fair to say we’re not very good at relaxing, but we’re coming out of a few days off feeling good about some of the things we accomplished.
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Stuffed
Well, that’s another Thanksgiving come and gone, and I’m sad to see the celebration end.
- This was the first year I made two turkeys, brine and all, due to excessive paranoia about there not being enough leftovers. Once again, I am thankful for the magic made within a double convection oven.
- Tiffany made pumpkin pie, which I wait all year for, and there was enough of the good stuff left that we could have pumpkin pancakes on the morning of Thanksgiving.
- Bram rediscovered the deliciousness of peas, a preference he probably inherited from mommy. And, um, he’s also a hound for pie. I, uh, have no idea where that comes from.
I believe we are all sufficiently fortified for Black Friday.
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Brew-ding
Today, I walked out of my way for a good cup of coffee. I’ll bet I’m not the only one. That got me thinking about why I do it and how coffee fits into my life, whether it’s stepping out for a cup or making one myself.
The first order of business is to curse Dave Sobel, who introduced me to coffee during college. Dave, because of you I’ve spent an incalculable amount of money and time on this topic. I probably did derive a great share of pleasure from it, too. Let’s call it a wash.
At home, I’ve tried a variety of bean purveyors in my time, but the level of effort I’m willing to put behind the venture is limited. That is to say that I won’t buy raw beans and roast them, and I generally don’t have a lot of free time to hang out in or even drive by any establishments that might roast their own. Mostly I’ve gone with what can be found either in the grocery store or by mail order in whole bean form — never freeze dried, never ground. I have even inflicted on myself some of the ventures by the bulk brands to break into the whole bean market with painful results, including headaches, nausea, and upset stomach. I’m not going to dignify those companies by naming them.
Before you ask, I drink it black. There had been a slow paring back of coffee amendments for me. I settled on the simplest way as also the best way. It’s a personal choice, that’s what makes America great, etc., etc.
What do I like? There are two brands, one local and one not. La Columbe (which happens to be sold at our local suburban 320 Market and by the cup a couple blocks away at Picnic) is great: it has body and a well-rounded depth of flavor that is both rich and smooth. It makes everything you consume with it better, including Picnic’s pastries and delicious biscuit sandwiches. No, they don’t pay me anything.
As far as I’m concerned, though, the pinnacle of coffee flavor and experience is Peet’s. They’re based in California, so I’ve never consumed any of their coffee within minutes of roasting. However, it is a heady experience to order via mail and receive those airtight packages, crack one open, and go into olfactory overload. You can see the sheen of oil on those dark beans. The French press is my default method of brewing now since I almost never need to serve more than myself. After a coarse grind, hot water, and a few minutes of brewing I’m ready to go. Peet’s is the cup of coffee I can drink on its own, no accompaniment or sustenance needed. No, they don’t pay me anything. Stop asking.
When we traveled recently on an early morning flight out of Philadelphia International Airport, I did a double-take when I saw a Peet’s Coffee shop in Terminal E. Nirvana! With giant muffins! It’s a little inconvenient to drive to the airport and short-term park just for a cup of coffee.
There’s my honorable mention: Starbucks. It’s everywhere. There are two within a block of my office and three within a five minute drive of my house. They don’t need me to say anything about them to continue to be a success. Sometimes their cup is right on, and sometimes I buy or drink an astringent, weak blend that is less than satisfying. On balance, they come through for me more often than not. There aren’t many other places that spring to mind for actually good coffee-flavored beverages if that’s what you’re looking for.
In order of my preference, places in University City for coffee:
- Picnic (La Columbe)
- Saturn Club (La Columbe, but never open early enough)
- Potbelly (Starbucks, but a consistent blend)
- Starbucks (hit or miss)
- Houston Hall (Starbucks, but never open early enough)
- Cosi (their own)
- Avril 50 (who knows?)
- Campus food trucks (best not to ask)
- Dunkin Donuts (with cream and sugar … and two donuts)
I might buy coffee from other local places under duress, but life is too short to purposefully drink bad coffee.
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Brunch: The most important meal of the day
We went out today with Liz and Sophy to a new (to us) joint called Hank’s. Supposedly, it’s a hangout of Andrew Wyeth‘s, but I didn’t see him. Okay, I admit it. I didn’t look for him. I was too distracted by the ladies walking around in wimples who were shilling for the local historical society. Anyway, the restaurant was good. I grossed everyone out and ordered something with creamed chipped beef on it. After that, my day was complete.
And yet it continued. We went to see The Hours. We were late, which is unusual for us, but we made it in. It was quite a good film, although Soph and I were of the opinion that it might turn out to be too cathartic, and by cathartic I mean depressing. Okay, we all know that Virginia Woolf dies. But Nicole Kidman was amazingly good at the role, and I was sorry to see her take that final walk … swim … walk … whatever. Tiffy really loved this book, and still loves it, although she said the screen version didn’t quite measure up. I think the performances were all uniformly good, though.
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Dampered Chef
We spent the week prior to last Friday busting our, um, backs, trying to get the house in shape enough to host a Pampered Chef party for our friend, Debbie. Friends and regular readers of this site will recognize that our household is generally in a state of — oh, how shall I put this? — dumphood. Nevertheless, we committed to inviting 30 of our closest friends to our home to get liquored up and purchase dangerous, sharp kitchen gadgets from catalogs and to get demonstrations from Debbie about how to make wholesome and tasty treats.
Work during the week consisted mostly of installing vent covers and baseboards and getting the powder room in shape enough to be used without embarrassment. The baseboard part was fun, but GP‘s help was an asset. I did most of the cutting and fitting — still searching for that 90 degree corner that I know I’ll never find — while Greg handled hammering and Tiffy did caulking and painting. The powder room took a lot of time because we had to get rid of a bunch of brass pipe that wouldn’t fit under the pedestal sink and replace it with PVC. One of the cold water supply valve washers was so old that it leaked right after the first test fit of the new sink. Ah well. We’re used to that kind of thing now, but it’s a bother to be slowed down. Long story short: it all works now. TP and towel hangers, plus new mirror and light fixture, are all in place. The new lockset was an 11th hour addition to preserve guest privacy. The room still needs a few finishing touches, but it’s good enough for now.
It was the first really big gathering we’ve had in the house. We should have officially called it a housewarming party. People keep giving us gifts, though, so perhaps we’ll keep everything unofficial until the presents start dropping off. Then we’ll soak everybody.
We had a nice mix of people at our gathering, which even included the odd youngster here or there. Most people seemed to have fun, but the important thing is that nobody got so sloshed that they had to stay over. There was occasional rowdiness from some of the group — You Know Who You Are — when Debbie was doing her presentations of the various gadgets. I supposed we could have withheld drink until afterwards, but who thinks that far ahead?
Props to Geoff for his work pouring cosmopolitans and hoisting guests off the floor. He actually worked hard to engage just about everyone in conversation, which is something I was quite negligent about. Special thanks to Debbie for producing the delicious chicken broccoli braid and banana split cake, both of which were promptly devoured by our friends, whom I like to refer to charitably as The Jackals.
We’ll do this again. In a couple years. Possibly.
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